The Fruitful Darkness
A Journey Through Buddhist Practice and Tribal Wisdom
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5.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
“The wisdom of cultures that live harmoniously with nature spoken through the heart and mind of a true gnostic intermediary.” —Ram Dass
In this “masterwork of an authentic spirit person,” Buddhist teacher and anthropologist Joan Halifax Roshi delves into “the fruitful darkness”—the shadow side of being, found in the root truths of Native religions, the fecundity of nature, and the stillness of meditation (Thomas Berry).
In this highly personal and insightful odyssey of the heart and mind, she encounters Tibetan Buddhist meditators, Mexican shamans, and Native American elders, among others. In rapt prose, she recounts her explorations—from Japanese Zen meditation to hallucinogenic plants, from the Dogon people of Mali to the Mayan rain forest, all the while creating “an adventure of the spirit and a feast of wisdom old and new” Halifax believes that deep ecology (which attempts to fuse environmental awareness with spiritual values) works in tandem with Buddhism and shamanism to discover “the interconnectedness of all life,” and to regain life’s sacredness (Peter Matthiessen).
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Halifax, an ecologist and anthropologist, encounters Tibetan Buddhist meditators, Mexican shamans and Native American elders in this highly personal odyssey, a lyrical farrago of field notes, reflections and reminiscence marred by New Age ecobabble. Author of Shaman: The Wounded Healer , Halifax believes that deep ecology (which attempts to fuse environmental awareness with spiritual values) ranks with Buddhism and shamanism as a way to understand the interconnectedness of all creation and to regain a view of life as sacred. In rapt prose she recounts her explorations--geographic and mental--from Japanese Zen meditation to hallucinogenic plants, from the Dogon people of Mali to the Mayan rain forest. The terrain she covers may be familiar to spiritual seekers, but it is too fuzzy to be of value to environmentalists.
